Does anyone go out for a run at 2AM, 3AM, or 4AM?

I live in Texas and sometimes don't get off work until 12 or 1 am. That is too late to get up early and run, and in the summer it is too hot to run before work. Usually go home relax for about 2 hours then go for a run, even if its 3am. Then sleep in.

During the summer in high school I would run to my girlfriends house around 9 P.M. when she got off work. We would hang out at her house and then I would run home sometime after midnight. Once in awhile we would fall asleep and I would end up running home at 3 or 4 in the morning. She only lived 2 1/2 miles away so it wasn't a very long run.

ive ran at 2-4 am many many times. it's definitely something you should do if you get a chance (wouldnt recommend it for a girl though). it's very quiet, and the air is nice and cool.

i went on a 9 miler at 4:30 am this past saturday. it was very nice.

When I was in grad school and working full-time, I got up before class and often did a 2-hour run Saturday morning at about 2:30am before my 2.5-hour commute to class. I was usually pretty tired, but it was always rewarding.

I ran around 1am once and was one of the best run I ever had. I find the longer that I been awake before I run the more aerobically comfortable it is. Having an area you can run in that late at night and feel comfortable is the trick though not all people are that lucky. It has to be well lighted and feel like you can outrun any zombies werewolves and night of the living dead creatures that is hiding behind that bush about 10 feet away.

seeing as it gets dark early at the moment, is it actually less safe to run at 2am compared to say 8pm? people are scared of being attacked but if you have to run in the dark anyway i'm not sure if 2am would be any more dangerous.

PS when i run at night i wouldn't wear: pink tops, anything blatantly girly, put a hat on to cover long hair, etc.

2 AM seems safer to me, as there is less traffic. More drunks, but easier to spot since there is so little traffic. If you're in a bad area the story might be different, although at 3 or 4, even the bad guys are asleep.

As the OP, I must say that you really have to live in a BAD BAD neighborhood to not go out for a run at 2AM or 3AM. In Boston, for example, you can easily go for a run at this time in the Brighton or Brookline areas, or the areas of the Boston Marathon on Comm Ave, but I would avoid Roxbury, Mattapan or Dorchester. As long as you don't live in Rochester, Dorchester, or Mattapan type places, and a few other exceptions like edges of Jamaica Plain or southern Brookline, I can't understand why people would be scared to go for a run at 2AM or 3AM.

"I haven't done it as I was concerned over the legality of running past midnight."

-where the heck do you live that cops would care about this? i've never heard of such a thing.

dobre den, pushka wrote:

"I haven't done it as I was concerned over the legality of running past midnight."

-where the heck do you live that cops would care about this? i've never heard of such a thing.

It was a humor-joke.

I do a great deal of course measuring in the middle of the night ( 1 pm - 5 am )- less traffic.

Some of it in Central Park (with the approval of the Parks and Police).

You see some interesting stuff at that time of the night!

Central Park has some huge wildlife roaming around.

I can't run after midnight or my running shoes turn into gremlins.

I've only been in Central Park in the middle of the night a few times (not running), and I didn't feel too confident. Latest I've run is midnight up and down second avenue.Now if it's really late, I'd rather go to the gym (open 24h) and use the treadmill. The people who go to the gym at night are fun (musicians, dancers...). Last time I was running on the treadmill at night, the guy next to me struck up a conversation and told me about his sex change operation. A really nice guy.

David Katz wrote:

I do a great deal of course measuring in the middle of the night ( 1 pm - 5 am )- less traffic.

Some of it in Central Park (with the approval of the Parks and Police).

You see some interesting stuff at that time of the night!

Central Park has some huge wildlife roaming around.

I run late all the time. The key for me is comfort level - if you know the area, it's usually not a problem at all. I've found a quiet, well lit neighborhood by my apartment, and I do most of my night time running there. In college, if I didn't run before dark I wouldn't go. Now, after a few years of doing it out of necessity, I've come to treat it as any other training run. Although I do find that the later I wait, the more tired I get. Usually when I'm yawning beforehand the workout doesn't end up too good.

One summer I worked at Denny's and got off work at midnight-2 a.m.

I'd do my run then, even long runs.

I really enjoyed it. Cool and little traffic on weekdays.

I did this a bunch during school breaks during undergrad. I would take a red-eye from Washington Coast to Maine and that would usually totally f*** up my internal clock. I would spend the whole break going to sleep some time between 5-8 a.m. and waking up between noon-3 p.m, which meant a lot of running between midnight and 3. It also made for an entry in my running log which my coach found pretty amusing (although at least a little disappointing, I'm sure): "2 am: Tried to run. Couldn't--too drunk."

You have a running log? How cute.

Billy Peltzer wrote:

I can't run after midnight or my running shoes turn into gremlins.

ROFL

It's 4:14am here and I am going out for a run.